April 16, 2004

Box Score

Ann Arbor, Mich. - A four-run sixth inning doomed the University of Illinois baseball team as it dropped game one of its series against Michigan, 6-3, Friday afternoon on a beautiful spring afternoon on the UM campus in Ann Arbor. The loss drops Illinois to 10-18 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten, while Michigan improves to 17-12 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten Conference.

Michigan broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. Illini starter Joe Ziemba allowed back-to-back one-out singles to put runners on first and second for Matt Butler, who hammered a double down the right field line to plate both runs and give Michigan an early 2-0 lead.

Illinois took longer to warm up to UM starter Jim Brauer, but the Illini offense started to catch up to the righthander in the top half of the sixth. Eric Eymann led off with a single to left, stole second and went to third on a ground out off the bat of Ryan Hastings. Eymann came around to score and close the gap to 2-1 when Chad Frk followed with an RBI single to deep right-center field.

Michigan immediately answered Illinois' mini rally in the bottom half of the inning, as the first two runners reached base and both scored on a two-run single off the bat of A.J. Scheidt to take a 4-1 lead. A pair of two-out RBI singles in the same frame moved the lead to 6-1.

Illinois rallied in the top half of the eighth after loading the bases with two outs on a pair of singles and a hit batter, bringing Michigan native Ryan Rogowski to the plate. The sophomore responded with a sharp single to right that plated both Ryan Hastings and Chad Frk, moved Chris Robinson to third and chased Brauer from the game.

Ziemba suffered the loss, falling to 1-5 on the year after allowing six runs on 10 hits in seven complete innings of work He walked one and struck out three. Brauer got the win, moving to 2-2 on the season, after allowing three runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Phil Tognetti threw the final 1 1/3 to earn his second save of the year.

Offensively, Chad Frk paced the Illini with three hits and an RBI, while Trevor Huisinga added a pair of hits. Eric Eymann went 1-for-3 with a walk, run scored and stolen base in his first game in the leadoff slot this season.

Illinois and Michigan continue their four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at noon central time Saturday. The series finale is scheduled for noon central on Sunday.